Got Time to Kill?
by Deliwiel
Summary: AKA What happens when the Avengers have downtime. We see what goes on when our favorite superheroes go to battle and save the day, but what about on regular days, where there are no alien invasions, no gods of mischief, and no murder bots? What do the Avengers & Co. do when they have time to kill? See AN inside for more details.
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay. So those of you who know me and my writing know that I don't usually write one-shots, or fluff pieces, but I've been wanting to expand my writing style, so this story is just going to be full of one-shots, some fluffy, some probably less so. I'm open to suggestions on what you want to have happen, so if you have anything, shoot me a PM or leave it in the comments!**_

 _ **These stories will feature different characters from the MCU. I try to keep things as canon as possible, but there will probably be some moments that don't add up with canon, and I apologize for that.**_

 ** _I don't own any of these characters._**

Peter's heart was pounding in his chest as he backed into a wall, trying to make himself invisible. His heart wasn't beating so fast because he was physically exhausted per se, but because of the adrenaline rushing through his body as he ducked, evaded, and slipped past his pursuers unnoticed.

"Kid?" Stark's voice came softly in his earpiece. "You there?"

"I'm here," Peter replied just as quietly. "Do you see them?"

Stark began to answer, but before he could, he suddenly let out a curse. Peter's eyes widened; he had a feeling he knew what that meant.

"Mr. Stark?"

"They got me kid. Run. They're coming for you."

Instead of running, Peter instead calmed down his breathing and tried to quiet the blood rushing in his ears as he began focusing on his senses, trying to figure out where his pursuers were. After a few seconds, he caught a voice coming his way. He listened harder and recognized who it was.

"-don't know where he is. Little bugger's good at hiding. No, stay where you're at. Let me finish checking out over here."

The voice got closer and closer to Peter's hiding spot, and the teenager closed his eyes, focusing on his spidey sense (as he'd taken to calling it), waiting for the right moment to reveal himself.

His eyes popped open; it was time. Not waiting another second, Peter jumped out from his spot and leveled his gun at the man who had just stepped around the corner, pulling the trigger a millisecond faster than his opponent.

Lights began flashing as Peter's laser connected with one of the sensors on the vest. Clint lowered his weapon in annoyance and slanted his mouth at the teenager.

"Wanna tell me where Natasha is?" Peter asked hopefully. The archer didn't even grace the question with an answer. Instead, he turned and headed towards the exit, where the rest of the downed Avengers were waiting, watching the lasertag battle on a large screen. As the archer walked away, he began speaking.

"Nat, the kid got me. You're on your own." There was a pause as Natasha replied, then Clint shot back, "Yeah, yeah. Shut up."

Peter grinned widely, but knew that he had to focus even more now that Black Widow was the only one left against him. He sank back into the shadows and began tracking his last target.

Clint walked out and sat next to Steve as they all watched the screen. On the screen, Clint saw Peter stepping around the corners with delicacy and finesse that most normal teenage boys didn't possess, while Natasha was almost impossible to spot unless you knew what you were looking for.

"Kid with an extra sense pitted against one of the best spies SHIELD's ever produced? This should be fun," he commented.

"Wanna make a wager?" Stark asked, waggling his eyebrows. Clint looked at the billionaire skeptically.

"Really? You think the kid has any chance of beating Natasha?"

"Have you noticed how he's the only one left against her?"

"Maybe she wasn't focusing on finding him before," Clint pointed out.

"Others could have taken him out. All I'm saying is, I think the kid's got a good chance."

"Alright, well if you're so sure, then I'll happily take your money." Barton's reply was sassy and sarcastic and made Tony want the kid to beat Natasha even more, just to wipe the smug smirk off the archer's face.

"Cap, you want in on this?" Stark asked, reaching over and lightly hitting Steve's arm. Rogers considered things for a moment, then nodded. "Definitely Natasha."

Stark looked at the others sitting on the bench. "Wings? Wanda?"

Sam and the young woman declined participating.

"Wow, no faith in the kid at all," Stark said, shaking his head in disappointment. Sam and the others watched with an almost-gleeful mirth as their teammates exchanged their bets.

"It's not that we don't believe in the kid, Tony, it's just that Natasha's got more experience than almost any of us," Steve assured the billionaire.

"Plus Nat's just better," Clint added in, doing his best to rile the billionaire up.

"You're just sore cuz he's the one who got you out," Tony pointed out.

"Eh, Tony's got a point there," Sam added with a smirk.

"No comments from the peanut gallery if you aren't betting," Clint said, pointing a finger at the Falcon. Sam's eyes narrowed as he folded his arms.

"Fine. I'm in. It's gonna be the kid," he said, staring at Clint in determination.

"Wanda? You sure you don't want in?" Barton asked. She shook her head, still holding firm on her decision not to participate in this particular bet.

"Tic Tac?" Sam asked, looking at Lang.

"Uuuhhh, I don't … uuuhhh … Widow?" Scott looked slightly uncomfortable as he answered. "Still think I coulda been in the game still if you guys had let me use the suit," he added in a mock-whiny tone.

"No external help," Steve said with a shrug.

"So, I know this is technically a training exercise, but if that was the case, shouldn't we have been allowed to use our suits and shields and such?" Scott argued.

"Training exercise for physical abilities," Clint clarified.

"Have you ever tried shrinking and growing with that suit?" Scott asked incredulously.

"No, but we also wanna keep the building intact," Sam pointed out. Scott opened his mouth to argue, then thought about the many problems his suit had been having recently, and shut it again.

"That's fair," he muttered.

"So, going once, going twice … Two for the kid, three for Nat," Clint said loudly. "Prepare to lose your money, Stark."

 _0-0-0_

Peter snuck around a corner silently, not making any noise as he moved. He kept his gun up and at the ready, ready to aim and fire at the slightest move.

It was deathly silent in the arena, which was both good and bad. Good, because it meant that he could hear everything around him, but bad because it meant that Natasha could also hear him.

He moved stealthily through the obstacles set up on the floor, listening for anything that would tell him where Natasha was. There was a slight scuffing off to his right, and Peter whirled around, firing the laser gun. There was no one where he fired though, and he knew he'd been played. He dodged to his right just as Natasha fired her own laser. She missed Peter's sensors by a hair as the teen flipped and rolled out of the way.

Peter ducked into a dark corner, reaching down and pulling the cuffs of his jeans over his white sock, trying to make himself as invisible as possible in the black lights. He held his breath as he heard an ever-so-soft step just in front of him. He only heard the one footstep though before it was eerily silent again.

The teenager looked up and around, trying to pick out the spy in the pitch black of the arena. Even with his heightened senses, he couldn't find the redhead.

When he felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck, Peter immediately turned around. How had she gotten up there so fast?! As he spun, he simultaneously aimed his gun in the air, preparing to pull the trigger, but his vest began lighting up even before he squeezed his own trigger.

"Gotcha."

Natasha jumped down from her perch above Peter as the lights flipped on. She stood there staring at him, hands to her side, gun in one hand.

Peter threw up his hands in exasperation and leaned against the barrier, looking up at the ceiling. "I almost had you," he insisted as the lights flipped on. Peter squinted as he tried to adjust to the light, but it didn't seem to affect Natasha at all.

"'Almost' doesn't cut it in the field," she replied. Peter's eyes finally adjusted, and he looked at the spy as he shrugged, deciding not to disagree with her out loud, if only to keep his fingers in one piece. "Come on," Natasha said, jerking her head towards the exit. Peter followed the spy out to the waiting area, where Clint, Steve, and Scott were almost gleefully accepting money from Stark and Sam.

"Way to go, kid," Sam snarked as the two spiders came out of the arena. "She got the jump on ya."

"Hey, at least I lasted longer than the first ten minutes," Peter shot back. Sam glared at the teenager, but Stark was smirking behind the man's back, throwing a quick wink at Peter.

"Anyone hungry?" the billionaire asked. There was a chorus of positive replies. "Cool. Clint, Rogers, why don't you go pick us up some pizzas with your newfound cash?"

"Oh no," Clint said, shaking his head. "I want to savor this money for a little bit longer before I spend it on something completely useless. You buy it."

Stark rolled his eyes, but had honestly not expected any other response. "Alright," he said, waving his hand in a circular motion. "Everyone back to the main floor. I guess pizza's on me."

 _ **Okay, so what did you guys think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Should I stop writing one-shot fluff altogether and just stick to my regular stories? XD**_

 _ **Once again, if you guys have any scenarios you want to see, just let me know and I'll see what I can come up with!**_

 _ **Constructive criticism is welcome, flames are not. Just be aware that this is my first time really trying to write anything fluff-related, so some may be more fluffy than others. How many more times do you guys think I can say the word fluff before someone decides to block me? XD Sorry, I'm really tired, so i'm just gonna leave this alone now XD**_

 _ **(Also, I did post this on AO3, but I don't understand that site very much, so I decided to just stick with what I know and post it here XD)**_

 _ **Lemme know what you guys think!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Okay, so apparently you guys all like this, so I'll keep going! Hope the second chapter is as good as the first :D**_

 ** _So this is definitely going to be a WIP story since I'm basically writing the story, editing it, and then posting it while barely touching the next story, but hopefully I can keep it to only a few days in between updates, like my other stories._**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

"It's annoying. I've been trying to figure out a way to make the formula even stronger, but nothing I've added in gives it the elasticity that it's got right now," Peter explained to Shuri as they wandered through the back aisle of the supermarket. It was late, and there was nobody close by, so Peter was okay talking with Shuri about his web fluid in a quiet tone as they picked up some things they needed for their movie night.

The young woman looked at her friend thoughtfully. "Have you considered adding vibranium?" she asked as she grabbed some chips from the shelf.

Peter's eyes almost bugged out of his head at the mention of the metal. "Vibra—no, I can't put that in there. That's waaay too expensive. Besides, I don't have access to any."

"You wouldn't have to put it in every batch," the Wakandan princess replied with a smirk. "Just a special batch to have on hand. And I am sure we can sneak some out from under T'Challa's nose without him noticing."

Peter looked thoughtful, even though the thought of 'sneaking' vibranium away from T'Challa freaked him out, but before he could comment, someone began yelling at the front of the store. There was a single shot, and the remaining customers screamed.

"Shut up!" someone yelled. "Shut up and get in there!"

Peter and Shuri crept around the shelves, crouching down to keep themselves out of sight as much as possible. They saw several men herding the customers into a back room.

"What are you waiting for?" Shuri asked quietly. She stared at Peter's backpack, knowing he had his suit stuffed inside, but the teenager shook his head.

"Too visible," he whispered back.

"Well, we should at least call someone," she stated, pulling out her phone.

"Wait," Peter said, putting his hand on Shuri's arm. When the princess looked back at him, he grinned at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Did you ever see that Christmas movie, 'Home Alone'?"

 _0-0-0_

Peter sat against one of the shelves, waiting for Shuri to come back. When the young woman reappeared, she crouched down next to Peter and deposited a few things on the ground next to her friend.

"Eight men, each armed," Shuri reported. "This should work, right?" She gestured to the things she'd gathered while on recon. "We can gather other things on the go?"

"Perfect," Peter replied, sifting through the items Shuri had brought back. "Ready to do this?" he asked, unable to stop the evil smile that lit his face up.

"Ready," Shuri replied, also grinning. With that, the two teenagers split up and began laying their traps.

 _0-0-0_

"These guys really picked the wrong store to rob," Peter muttered to himself as he stepped back and observed his handiwork. Suddenly his phone began vibrating, and the teenager quickly answered the call. He was so glad he'd remembered to put the phone on silent; that was _always_ how people got caught in the movies.

"Peter? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. You good?"

"I'm all set over here.

"Cool. Let's get this party started."

 _0-0-0_

It wasn't hard to get one of the guards to chase him. All Peter had to do was knock something off the shelf near where the guards were keeping the rest of the hostages, and one of them was sent out to see what caused the noise. Then it was simply a matter of letting the man catch a brief glimpse of Peter before he ran away through the shelves.

Peter led the man through the aisles until they reached the freezer section, where the teenager had dumped several bottles of water on the ground, which had since frozen and formed a nice coat of ice. The young man ran through the curtain separating the freezer from the rest of the store and immediately hopped onto a shelf, out of the way as the man chasing him barrelled inside. The robber didn't stand a chance. Literally. As soon as he stepped inside the freezer and his foot connected with the ice, it sent him careening into the closest wall.

The sight of the man falling head over heels was comical to Peter, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing as he hopped down and used the zip ties he and Shuri had found to secure the man's hands and feet.

 _0-0-0_

Shuri ran around one of the shelves, placing her back flat against it as she grabbed the bottle of vinegar she'd placed there. She quickly dumped some baking soda inside the bottle, not caring that the white powder got on her clothes as she peered around the shelf to see where her pursuer was. He had already begun coming down the aisle, and he saw her head peak out.

"Get over here," he growled, stalking towards the young woman. Shuri quickly capped the vinegar bottle loosely with a cork and began shaking the mixture. The pressure built more and more until Shuri felt like the plastic might burst, which was right when the robber decided to make his appearance. As soon as she saw his face, she easily flipped the cork out of the bottle.

With the pressure having built up so much, the force of the cork was impressive, and it actually managed to slow the robber down slightly as he let out a yell and covered his eye with his hand.

While he was distracted, Shuri grabbed a nearby glass bottle of pickles and smashed it over her purser's head. He dropped to the floor without a sound.

 _0-0-0_

Shuri crouched behind a large box as she listened for her next victim to walk past. The robbers were more cautious now, but they had to keep sending men out to search for the escaped hostages.

When Shuri heard the footsteps pause right in front of her box, she jumped up, veggie oil in hand. It was one of the kinds in a squeeze bottle, so she simply aimed and squeezed the liquid, coating the man in the smooth, slimy liquid.

The robber let out a small exclamation of surprise, but before he could chase after Shuri, the young woman grabbed the bag of craft feathers she'd found and flipped on a fan, putting the bag of feathers in front of the blowing air.

Soon the man was completely coated in oil and feathers, and Shuri took advantage of his distraction and jabbed her fingers into his windpipe, effectively disabling the man enough for her to zip tie his hands and feet. She had also grabbed a roll of sparkly purple duct tape from the same section she'd found the feathers in, and she tore a strip off, placing it over the man's mouth so he couldn't shout.

When she was finished she stood up, brushing her hands as she looked around. "Not bad."

 _0-0-0_

Two men had been sent after Peter this time. The teenager ran through the bicycle/car maintenance section of the store. He knocked some of the window wiper fluid off the shelf and the bottle popped open, spilling the contents all over the floor behind Peter.

It didn't take long for the men to catch up with him. They appeared at one end of the aisle, and thanks to the fluorescent lights, they could see that the teenager had spilled some sort of liquid on the ground. Unfortunately, the men were blissfully unaware that they were dealing with a superpowered teenager.

"Listen," Peter called out. "We're _tired_ of you bad guys thinking you can get away with anything you want." He was fiddling with a bike tire he'd removed, waiting for the right moment. The men began running down the aisle at him, though they moved slower thanks to the liquid covering the ground.

While they were looking to see where they were stepping, Peter flung the tire at them like a frisbee, his extra strength giving the tire enough force that it knocked both of them down.

Not only did the tire knock their feet out from under them, but they fell into the window washer fluid and skidded into the aisle, dropping window wipers and other car-care items on top of them. Peter quickly ran forward, sliding on the floor to get closer to the men faster. "I could totally hand Cap's shield," he muttered proudly to himself as he secured the men's hands and feet.

Once they were zip tied together and incapable of moving, Peter stood up and looked towards his last booby trap.

 _0-0-0_

Once again, two men had been sent out to chase the teenager, and Peter hoped that Shuri would go take out the one last man holding the people hostage.

Ducking through the aisles, Peter quickly made his way towards the last trap he and Shuri had set up. He could see the cord dangling from the ceiling, and he picked up his pace a little, reaching out for it.

Peter yanked on it as he ran past, but nothing happened, and suddenly the young man found himself stuck against the back wall as the two robbers approached him. The teenager looked up and saw that the pulley system he'd made had a kink in it, which is why it didn't work, and he could have kicked himself. His attention snapped back to the robbers as they cocked and aimed their guns at him, but before either of them could actually fire, and before Peter could take any evasive maneuvers, there was a shout from behind. The robbers turned around just in time to see Shuri running at them.

She veered towards the shelf to her right and placed her foot on the third level, pushing herself off the floor and into the air. She descended rapidly, her fist connecting solidly with one of their noses. While his friend took care of one of the robbers, Peter crouched down and swiped his leg under the feet of the second man.

Soon both robbers were zip tied on the floor.

"Thanks," Peter said.

"You looked like you could use some help," Shuri replied with a smirk, even though she actually knew Peter would have found some way to take care of himself.

"One left?" Peter asked. Shuri nodded.

"One left."

 _0-0-0_

Peter and Shuri sat on opposite sides of the door, peering around their corners as they assessed the situation. The one guard left was standing with his back to the teenagers, keeping an eye on the hostages to make sure that no one tried anything funny.

Peter looked at the toy he and his friend had grabbed, giving Shuri a brief nod as he inserted batteries they had pilfered as well. Since he couldn't speak without alerting the guard to their presence, he simply gave her a thumbs up. Shuri returned the gesture, and the boy turned the toy upside down, awakening the dreaded Furby.

"Aaaaaah! Sleepy all gone!"

Quickly, Peter slid the toy away from him. The two teenagers ducked back against the wall again as the guard came out to examine the cause of the ruckus. As he stepped outside, Shuri pulled on a string attached to a bucket that Peter had climbed up (out of sight of any cameras that might have still been running) and placed in the rafters. The bucket tumbled down, spilling its contents of marbles and Legos.

Hearing the commotion, the man looked up in surprise, letting out a shout and covering his face with his hands as he stepped back. Just like Peter and Shuri had anticipated. The man stepped back onto a marble. The first marble didn't do anything, but he continued stepping around, and the more and more he stepped on the marbles, the more and more he lost his balance, until finally he fell onto his back with a shout, landing right on top of the Legos.

He yelled in pain and tried to roll over, but simply rolled onto more Legos and marbles. Peter and Shuri began laughing at the comical display, but they only laughed for a few seconds before they got back to business. Shuri hurried forward, kicking the gun out the robber's reach and bending down to zip tie him together while Peter hurried into the room where the hostages were being kepts.

"You guys okay?" he asked as he began untying knots arounds wrists. They all nodded, even though they looked terrified. Once they were freed, they got up and immediately went for a bag on the floor, which Peter found out was apparently where the robbers had stowed all the cell phones. Soon, everyone was on their phone, either with the police or with their families. Shuri walked in and stood next to Peter.

"You realize what's going to happen when Mr. Stark finds out that you did this, right?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at her friend.

"Not as bad as what's gonna happen when your brother finds out," Peter shot back. They sat there for another minute, contemplating what the other had said. Then, in unison, they both said,

"We're in so much trouble."

 _ **Okay, I know the right thing for Peter and Shuri to do would be to call the cops, but whenever that happens, it's always messy, and I figured that Peter would be confident enough in themselves to think they could take the bad guys down alone, which they did. So ... yay for creative license XD**_

 ** _Sorry if it seemed a little rough. Writing one shots is a little more difficult for me, but I'm trying to work on it._**

 ** _Anyway, let me know what you guys think, and I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can!_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this :D**_

 _ **Okay! So back in the first chapter, I got a request to have the Avengers go to an amusement park and have Ned happen to be there. This kind of meets that requirement, though I did add in some other characters from a different show as well...**_

 _ **Longer AN at the bottom.**_

 _ **I don't own these characters**_

"Mr. Hawkeye, sir, can I just say, what an honor it is to meet you, sir? And uh, Mr. America - I mean, Captain Steve, I just … wow, I can't ... You really are as handsome as they say, and I just ... It is _such_ an honor, Captain. I-"

Peter clapped his hand over Ned's mouth, preventing his friend from saying anything else. Clint looked amused, Steve looked patient, and Natasha looked at Peter with a raised eyebrow. After meeting their gazes, Peter let out a nervous chuckle.

"Ned, what uh … what are you doing here?" Peter knew it was obvious that he had invited his friend, but he was trying to play it cool. "Guys, this is my friend, Ned," the teenager introduced, removing his hand and stepping away from the other boy. Ned held up a hand and gave a small, timid wave.

"Ned," Rogers greeted with a warm smile and a nod.

Ned's mouth dropped open in shock and awe. "Captain America knows my name."

"Yeah, cuz I _just_ introduced you," Peter said, trying not to roll his eyes.

The day was hot, and there were crowds of people milling around as they made their way towards different rides. Every few seconds, someone would stop and stare, or maybe point at the small group of people, mostly at Steve, though a few gestured to Natasha and Clint as well, whispering behind their hands. Steve looked at one particular group of girls and they broke out into giggles before hurrying along their way, casting longful glances back at the Avenger.

Peter, Natasha, Clint, and Steve had gone to Coney Island, partly because Stark had kicked them out of the compound for the day, but also partly because Steve hadn't been on a rollercoaster or ride since being unfrozen. Stark had grumbled at Peter and Clint to go play on an adult playground or something because they had seemingly unlimited reserves of energy, and Peter had suggested Coney Island. They could ride the Cyclone, The Wonder Wheel, when they got bored of rides, they could walk along the boardwalk, and they could even visit the aquarium if it got too hot.

Peter had insisted Steve come so that he could get some sort of 'fun,' and the Captain finally relented. Natasha decided to come along, because she knew it would be funny to watch two grown men and a superpowered teenager get sick riding the Cyclone seven times in a row after stuffing themselves with food.

Natasha smirked as she watched Ned fanboy over the small group. He finally turned his attention to her.

"Miss Widow, I uh, … you're super cool, and I … I just wanted to say … wait, are you going to kill me if I say something to make you mad?" The question was completely serious, so Natasha decided to make her answer just as serious.

"That depends on what you say." Her voice was steady, void of emotion, and she stared at Ned with an unreadable expression. Clint could tell she was clearly enjoying making the teenager uncomfortable, but he decided not to intervene.

"Funnel cakes!" Peter said loudly, pulling Ned away from the assassin. Natasha smirked, threw a quick wink at Clint, then watched the two teenagers as purchased two huge funnel cakes. Barton and Rogers walked over to the stand as well as Peter and Ned came back. Ned still looked slightly shell-shocked at having met several key members of the Avengers, but he was starting to be able to speak without stumbling over his words.

As Peter, Ned, and Natasha were standing there, the teenagers eating their funnel cakes, a man staggered past Peter and accidentally knocked into him. "Sorry," the man mumbled. Peter, figuring the man was drunk, didn't say anything. However, that same man then bumped into Natasha a few seconds later, once again muttering a quick apology before trying to walk on. Without even looking, Natasha reached out and grabbed the man's wrist, twisting it until he cried out in pain.

"Let go of me! Let go!" the man yelled, trying to yank his hand out of Natasha's grip. Natasha didn't blink, and Peter stared at the proceedings with wide eyes. The spy almost looked bored.

"Let me go! Let me go, you crazy b-"

"Woah, hold on," a new voice interrupted. Peter turned to find who had spoken and saw four people standing there, two guys, two girls. The same person who had spoken before, the taller of the two guys, stepped forward and held out a badge.

"Detective Peralta with the 99. What's going on here?"

"This crazy lady's assaulting me!"

"He picked our pockets," Natasha replied, sounding bored and still not letting go of the man's wrist.

"She's crazy!" the man shouted. Peralta squinted at Natasha.

"I feel like I know you from somewhere … Have we met before?"

"Jake," the woman with curly black hair interrupted in a monotone voice. Peter thought to himself that she looked like she would rather be anywhere than the fair at the moment.

"Right," Jake said, shaking his head and getting back to the matter at hand. "Can you prove that he picked your pocket?"

"Not just mine," Natasha said, yanking the man over to her like he wasn't even struggling. She reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a phone with a cracked screen that Peter immediately recognized as his own. He patted his own pockets in surprise, then looked up and caught his phone as Natasha tossed it over.

"Thanks," he said, mentally smacking himself for not catching onto the pickpocket sooner.

"I didn't take that," the thief insisted.

"That's _clearly_ not the case," Jake drawled, rolling his eyes. "Rosa?"

The curly haired woman from before stepped forward and relieved Natasha of the pickpocket. "Thanks," she said evenly, handcuffing the man and stepping away from Natasha.

"Sure thing."

Peter started slightly when he realized how similar the two women sounded. He studied the curly haired woman, Rosa, closer, and realized that she reminded him scarily of Natasha. He could even see what looked like a couple expandable batons attached to her belt, which he knew for a fact Natasha also had. The teenager was jerked out of his comparisons as someone else spoke.

"Nat?" Clint's voice came from behind, and Peter turned to face Barton and Rogers, who were coming back with their own funnel cakes. They were both staring curiously at the proceedings. "What's going on?"

Before the redhead could answer, there was a small gasp and almost squeal from the group of cops. Everyone turned to stare at Jake, who was in turn staring at Captain America.

"You're …" He looked between Clint and Natasha as well, recognition dawning in his eyes. "I knew I knew you from somewhere!" he proclaimed as he pointed at her, though his voice was still an octave higher than it had been before.

"Dude, Jake, keep it in your pants," Rosa said, though she also looked slightly less bored than she had earlier. However, it wasn't Rogers she was staring at. Now that she knew who they were, she was staring at both Clint and Natasha, a glimmer of respect in her eyes.

"I just, Ihavesomanyquestions!" Jake said, his words smashing together as he looked around.

"Babe, breathe," the other girl said, grabbing Jake's arm and rubbing it, though she also looked excited as she stared back at the Avengers. Mostly her focus was on Natasha, but she did occasionally glance at Steve appreciatively.

"Ames, it's _Captain America_ ," Jake said, as if the girl didn't already know.

"Amy, don't take this moment away from Jake," the other guy in the group said. "You _know_ how much he idolizes him!"

"Yes, Charles, I do know. You don't have to live with it," Amy shot back. "Besides, Captain America isn't the only one here!" She turned and held her hand out to Natasha in excitement. "Amy Santiago," she gushed. Natasha gave the woman a small but sincere smile and reached out, giving one firm shake. Amy stepped back and stared at her hand with the most excited expression the Avengers had ever seen.

Clint leaned over to whisper to Peter and Ned, "Sure, sure, no one likes the archer."

"Hey, you're Hawkeye, right?" Rosa asked casually, jerking her chin at the archer. Clint looked back up, wondering how on earth she had heard him, and he nodded. "Sweet arrows," was all she said. While Clint appreciated the compliment, his reaction wasn't nearly as big as apparently the action warranted. Jake, Charles, and Amy were all staring at her, their mouths hanging open. "What?" Rosa asked. "I did archery for a few years. I can appreciate the equipment and skill."

"I'm learning so much right now," Jake said, his eyes wide as he stared at his friend. He shook his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts. "Anyway, more on _that_ later," he said, staring pointedly at Rosa.

"Not happening," Rosa replied drily, but Jake continued on like he hadn't heard her.

"Captain America, Sir, can I just say how awesomely epic it is to actually meet you in person?" Jake took a couple steps forward, with his hand held out. "I'm sorry, you must get this all the time, but I just … I can't believe that it's really _you_!" The detective took a couple steps forward and pulled out his phone. "Do you mind if I …?"

"No, no, that's fine," Steve said, smiling as Jake got into the frame for a selfie. The photo was taken, and Jake stepped back.

"Noice," he said, looking at the picture. He turned back to his companions. "Well, we should probably, uh, get goin'. Still got lotsa crime to fight," he added a little louder, as if the Avengers couldn't hear him still.

"You dragged us all out here because you wanted to do the hot dog eating contest," Rosa reminded him.

"And I only came along to try and stop you from destroying your pallet by doing so, so I wholeheartedly support leaving," Charles piped up. He grabbed the perp from Rosa and began dragging them all away.

"Ope, guess we're leaving," Jake said as Amy grabbed his hand and started walking away. "If you ever need anything from your brothers in blue, let me know!" The detective was having to shout louder as he got further away from the group of Avengers. "Detective Jake Peralta with the NYPD, 99th precinct! Okay byyye!"

Steve offered a thumbs up, letting Jake know that they'd heard, and Peter saw the cop grin like a school boy. As they walked away, Jake turned to Amy and spoke, probably not realizing that he was still talking loud enough for the Avengers to hear.

"Ames, did you see? I just met Captain America! I did it, and I didn't pants him!"

Amy seemed just as confused as the rest of the Avengers were upon hearing _that_ statement.

"Uh … good for you?" Amy replied, giving what looked like an encouraging but overall perplexed smile.

"I gotta tell Sarge!"

Rogers chuckled.

"Bet you don't miss that from your army days," Clint stated. Steve shrugged and took a bite out of his funnel cake, not answering.

"Weren't you guys gonna ride the Cyclone?" Natasha reminded them. Clint and Peter nodded, their eyes lighting up with excitement. Barton pulled the funnel cake away from Steve, ignoring the deadpanned stare the Captain gave him, and shoved their plates into Natasha's hands, ignoring her glare. Peter and Ned had finished their treats, and they all made their way over to the ride.

Natasha watched with amusement as they got in line before she sat herself down on a bench. She took a bite out of Clint's funnel cake; he'd made the mistake of making her hold it. Besides, he wouldn't mind. Especially once he'd been on the ride a few times, and the little bit of cake he'd eaten made a reappearance. She continued working at the fried dough as she watched the men clamber into their seats, and when the ride took off, she could swear that she heard each one of them screaming. Three were of enjoyment, but there was one voice she recognized that sounded more like a terrified child as the ride fell in its first dip.

 _ **So, a couple house cleaning Items. One: Just remember, guys, I am not a professional writer (though I am working towards writing for TV shows some day, but I'm not there yet). I really just got into writing a few years ago, so I definitely still need improvement, I know. If you guys don't like the story/the way I write, I am always open to constructive criticism, meaning pointing out where things were weaker and suggesting improvements. If you just tell me what you hate, but don't suggest a way to improve it, or phrase it in a way that I can tell you're just insulting me, I'll probably just end up feeling terrible about myself, and none of us want to feel that way, right? So just be nice and courteous in your comments and critiques and we'll all get along just fine. Don't worry, no one reviewing this story has said anything, it's just I've had a couple people reach out to me and tell me their thoughts in not so nice ways.**_

 _ **Second, I'm definitely going to try and write all the suggestions that I get! To the reviewer who requested this, I know it's probably not what you had in mind, especially since I didn't focus a ton on Ned, so let me know, and if it's not, I'll try and get another one written to more your liking.**_

 _ **Third, I know a lot of these are really quick, and I could expound on them a little more, but I also think it's fun to kind of leave things off this way and let your imagination play with the idea a little bit as well. Who was it screaming like a little kid? Did they actually throw up? Did they go to the aquarium? (Also, never actually been to Coney Island, all of this info was found on google).**_

 _ **Lastly, I just want to say thanks to all of you again! You're all so wonderful and kind and I love the support you show for me and my stories! Sorry about the long AN, I just had to get some things out :)**_

 _ **Let me know what you think!**_

 _ **(Also, did you guys like the cameo? Did those guys seem in character, if you know who they are? I've never written them before, so I wasn't sure ...)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Idk why, but I got so happy writing this chapter. It's probably completely OOC, but I just thought the story was too cute to pass up, so here we are.**_

"Peter, there's no _way_ May lets you keep that," Ned said as he watched Peter. The young hero was currently slipping into a baggy hoodie that he'd traded the hoodie he'd traded his backpack for from the first person on the street willing to make the deal. He'd slipped his clothes on over his suit so that there was nothing in the backpack, but he had to stick the mask in his back jean pocket.

He was wearing the hoodie to try and cover the tiny squirming kitten he'd found abandoned in an alley. The poor thing had been half frozen, and Peter immediately knew his friendly neighborhood Spider-Man actions extended to animals as well.

"I mean, maybe she would …" Peter trailed off. Who was he kidding? May didn't necessarily hate animals, but she definitely had tried to find an apartment that didn't allow pets. Which was the other problem. She had succeeded in finding such an apartment building. Peter knew he'd be in so much trouble if he was found with a cat. Not to mention they'd have to get rid of her.

"Well …" Peter looked over at Ned, who held up his hands.

"Don't look at me; I can't take it home. Mom would kill me."

"Well I can't just leave her here," Peter argued. "She'll freeze to death.

"You could always take it to a shelter," Ned pointed out. Peter looked at him in aghast.

"Abandon her? I can't do that."

"Well, what are you gonna do with it?"

Peter looked down at the sleepy kitten inside his sweatshirt. She blinked her big green eyes up at him sleepily and let out a tiny squeak of a meow, and Peter's heart melted all over again.

"Maybe …" Peter looked off in the distance, wondering what the consequences for his current thought would be. "I've got an idea."

 _0-0-0_

Peter crept through the hallway of the Avengers compound, keeping an eye out for any of the adults. He'd made it this far without anyone catching him, and he was almost to his room-

"Peter?"

Crap. The teenager turned around and faced Tony Stark. The billionaire crinkled his nose at the sight (and smell) of the hoodie Peter was wearing.

"Kid? What are you wearing?"

"I'm … cold."

Stark stared at him skeptically. "You're cold? When it's-" He checked his watch. "Seventy-seven degrees inside?"

"Well, you know, I just came from outside, where there's snow, and my high metabolism keeps me pretty cold a lot of the time, plus poor circulation, and I just get … you know … cold."

Peter could tell that Tony wasn't buying his excuse, so the kid was slightly surprised when he shrugged. "Okay," was all the billionaire said. Peter was about to let out a sigh of relief but Stark hadn't finished his thought. "Friday, activate the heater in the kid's suit."

"Oh, Mr. Stark, that's okay, I'm sure I'll warm up eventually," Peter tried insisting, but it was too late; the heater had started working, and soon Peter was sweating.

"Wow, you must really be cold to still have that jacket on," Stark said, crossing his arms. Peter could hear the challenge in the billionaire's voice. He held out for as long as he could, but even the kitten seemed to have warmed up enough, because she began meowing softly and struggling to get away from the heat.

With a final defeated gasp, Peter yanked the sweatshirt off, being careful to avoid dropping the kitten.

"Knew it," Tony said smugly. Soon though, he spotted what had been in the sweatshirt, and the sound of the kitten meowing suddenly registered. His eyes widened, and his eyebrows practically disappeared in his hairline. "Care to explain?"

"Uuuhhh …" Instead of answering his mentor's question, Peter held out the little animal. "This is Pepper," he introduced.

Stark gave his intern an unamused stare. "Really? You think that just because you named it after the love of my life that I'm going to allow you to keep it here?"

"Yes?" Peter stared at Tony with the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could muster. Stark rolled his own eyes, then let out a massive sneeze.

Peter held the cat back slightly. "Are you … are you allergic to cats?"

"Very," Tony replied with a sniff. For a moment, Peter hesitated about leaving the kitten there after all. That was, until someone else entered the conversation as well.

"No he's not."

Both heroes turned and faced the human Pepper, who was walking towards them with a smirk. Peter and Tony answered at the same time.

"What?"

"Yes I am."

"No, Tony, you're not. Remember, I was your assistant long before I was your girlfriend." She smiled sweetly at her boyfriend. "I know every detail of your life, and you're not allergic to cats."

"It's a recent thing," Stark insisted. "People can develop allergies later on in life."

Pepper walked over to Peter and gently took the little orange kitten from his arms. "Does that mean you're going to be allergic to me then?" she asked demurely, raising the kitten and placing a kiss on the top of its head, never breaking eye contact with Tony.

Stark let out a small huff and rolled his eyes again. He didn't raise any more fuss though, and he even took a step forward to awkwardly pat the cat once on the head before stepping back.

"It's a female orange tabby," Peter added, clasping his hands together in an attempt to be casual. "They're pretty uncommon."

"So she's one of a kind. Just like her namesake," Tony said, smiling a sincere smile, the one that he reserved specifically for Pepper - his girlfriend, not the cat.

Peter decided not to mention that female orange tabbies weren't necessarily unheard of, just unusual; this was a special moment between Tony and his girlfriend, and Peter wasn't planning on being the one to ruin it. Finally Tony looked over at the kid.

"So what was the plan? Keep it in your room and hope that no one noticed?"

"Well … yeah?"

Stark chuckled in amazement that Peter thought he could actually get away with it. "That worked wonderfully." The billionaire stared at the teenager critically, trying to decide what to do next. "Alright, it can stay here. Temporarily," he added. Peter didn't care about the last word. He had his first pet! A huge grin split his face, but he tried to act cool about it.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark."

"Remember kid, this isn't a permanent thing. You're gonna need to find somewhere else to take it eventually."

 _0-0-0_

A few days later, Peter walked into his room at the compound and tossed his backpack onto his bed. As he settled into the soft mattress, he shot May a text, letting her know that he was staying at the compound overnight since it was the weekend. While he waited for her to respond, he suddenly realized there was something different in his room. His head popped off the pillow and he focused on the corner, where a huge carpeted cat tower was sitting. Standing at least six feet tall, it had all sorts of mini tunnels, hideaways, dangling toys, and posts for the cat to scratch.

Peter got off his bed and walked over to the tower, taking his earbuds out and smiling as he spotted his little kitten inside one of the covered areas. She was sleeping soundly, her paws wrapped around a small toy mouse. Peter's heart melted all over again, and he pulled out his phone, sending a picture of the scene to Ned.

After he sent the text, Peter noticed a piece of paper on the tower, which he pulled off and unfolded.

 _So she doesn't claw at the furniture. TS_

Peter smirked, but didn't dare say anything to Tony about it.

The kitten became the most popular thing amongst the Avengers. Clint would come and play with her the most when Peter wasn't there, using the laser sight on his bow to encourage the kitten to run around and wear herself out. Steve and Bruce would pet the kitten, and scratch her behind the ears, under the chin, and run their fingers along her back. Steve would arm wrestle with her, letting her try to wrap her tiny legs around his freakishly large arm. Even Natasha, Peter noticed, would pet the small creature when she was nearby, though everyone knew better than to try and tease her.

Pepper (the kitten) most decidedly liked Peter the best though. Whenever there were multiple people around, if he was in the room, she would go to him and cuddle. However, there was one day where Peter and Clint were playing video games while Tony was on his phone, and the kitten walked in. She looked at Peter and started walking towards him, but suddenly decided to change course, instead choosing to hop on Tony's lap and curl into a ball, despite the billionaire's protests.

"Move," Tony gruffed at her, but the orange tabby refused to move. She blinked her green eyes at him slowly, then nestled her head into his leg, quickly falling fast asleep.

"She weighs less than three pounds, Mr. Stark," Peter reminded him. "You can just move her."

"No he can't. He's stuck there till she wakes up," Clint stated.

"I wasn't planning on getting up anyway," Stark muttered with a roll of his eyes. Peter turned back to the screen in order to hide his smirk. Try as he might to deny it, Peter got the feeling that Tony had developed a soft spot for the small feline.

New things for the cat would appear every few days. The new water bowl and food dish came with a note that read, ' _So it doesn't spill everywhere. TS_ '

The cat bed that appeared also came with a note. _Don't want her fur all over the bed. TS_

One day, Peter walked into the compound after an intense training session with Natasha, quite ready for a nap. He made his way to his room and found the kitten sitting on his bed, only she had a new accessory. A sparkly blue collar now resided around her neck with a tag dangling on the front. As he scratched her ears and she headbutted his hand, Peter looked at the engraving on the tag.

 _Pepper_

Peter turned the tag over and read the text where people would put their name and numbers in case the pet got lost. Etched into the metal were simply the words: _If found, return to the Avengers._

Peter noticed another note on his bed, and he picked it up.

 _So she doesn't get lost. TS_

Also included in the note was a small piece of paper with a microchip code, to let people know that she had been chipped. Peter grinned, rubbing his forehead against the cat's as she pressed her face against his.

"Knew he liked you," the teenager muttered, adding the latest note to the small pile he'd collected from the previous gifts Tony had left. Peter laid down on his bed and the kitten curled up on his chest. The two of them fell asleep within a matter of moments. Before he drifted off though, Peter thought to himself that beneath his rough and tough exterior, Tony Stark was in reality one of the softest people he had ever met.

 _ **Like I said, probably super OOC, but it is what it is XD**_

 _ **I am working on requests for these chapters, I promise. I just hit a roadblock for fluffy things until last night when this struck me, so I decided to write it. But I promise I am still working on this. Also, if you follow my MacGyver stories, I've got another one of those in the works, so keep an eye out!**_

 _ **Le me know what you think!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Okay so this is waaaay out of what I'm used to writing, so it's gonna be rough, but I haven't seen many fics with this particular scenario, and gosh dangit, I wanted to see it. So I hope you enjoy this incredibly cheesy (but hopefully not too terrible) chapter.**_

"Hap, you still got that ring?"

Happy's eyes widened in shock, and he immediately began patting his pockets. "You kidding? I've been carrying this thing around since 2008!"

Stark and Pepper stared at Happy, both of them unsure of what to say. Finally Tony broke the silence with an uncomfortable chuckle.

"... Okay …"

"I think I can come up with something better than that," Pepper said drily.

"You sure? It could buy us a little ti-"

Pepper cut off Tony's suggestion by planting a kiss on his lips, which Stark grinned into. "Like we need time."

Pepper moved back towards the door. Before Stark followed, he turned and deftly caught the small ring right as Happy tossed it to him, tucking it into his pocket. He then followed Pepper.

"Tony, if you propose in front of all these reporters, I will say no," Pepper warned him quietly, out of hearing range of the story-hungry journalists.

"Well, we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

 _0-0-0_

"Hey Pep," Tony called out. "I'm gonna throw a party on Friday. Pulling out all the stops; this is gonna be huge."

"Uh, what is this party for?"

"Don't tell me you forgot what this Friday is?"

"Did _I_ forget what this Friday is? I'm surprised _you_ know what this Friday is."

"You seriously thought I'd forget the anniversary of us finally deciding to do something about the chemistry between us?"

"You forgot your own birthday once," she pointed out.

Stark hesitated for a moment, a contemplative look on his face. "Fair enough," he finally sniffed. "Be that as it may, I didn't forget about Friday, and I wanna throw a party for us."

"For you?"

" _Us_ , Pep. This day is as much about you, if not more, than me."

" _You_ want a party, Tony. I don't."

"Okay, so the party will be for my sake. Everything else that day is for you." He gave the redhead an innocent look. She finally sighed.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Nothing. I'll take care of everything."

Pepper stared at the billionaire incredulously. "You? You're gonna plan a party?"

"I have a genius-level intellect, Pepper. I am perfectly capable of planning my own anniversary party."

"Mmhmm. Well, we'll see. Let me know if you need any help," she called out behind her as she turned and walked away.

"I won't," Tony called back.

 _0-0-0_

Friday rolled around, and Pepper spent the day upstairs, managing a few things and putting out a few fires for Stark Industries, but as the day wore on, she shut her phone off except for anything from Tony, and she began to get ready. She also spent a bit of time wrapping his anniversary gift. She was going to wait until after the party to give the present to him though; she didn't want the whole night to be in front of whoever her boyfriend was inviting.

Tony had told her that the party was a formal thing, so she picked out the dress she'd worn after he got back from Afghanistan, the blue one with no back. Paired with that, she chose to wear the necklace Tony had made her out of the pieces of shrapnel from his heart.

She put it on and stared at herself in the mirror. Next, she began messing with her hair. As she put it up in a simple, yet elegant bun, she sighed. She had wanted tonight to just be her and Tony, but she understood who she was dating, and that even though he had grown up exponentially over the past ten years, he was still himself, and he still had to make himself present in the community. She would have him to herself later though, and she intended to make it count.

Satisfied with her appearance, she moved away from the mirror and out of the bathroom.

"Tony?" she called out as she put some earrings in, looking around for her boyfriend.

"Mr. Stark is waiting for you on the patio," came the Scottish AI.

"The patio?" Pepper walked towards the door leading out to the patio, and she stopped and stared at the scene in front of her.

The table was covered with a silky blue cloth, and there was a bundle roses where Pepper assumed she was supposed to sit. The whole area was lit with soft yellow lights.

"Like it?" Tony came up behind her and kissed her cheek.

"It's very nice, but we're going to be late to the party," she reminded him, though she didn't make a huge attempt to move back inside.

"If I can't be fashionably late to my own party, what's the point of being me?" He took her by the hand and led her to the table, pulling out her seat and scooting her in once she was settled. He then sat in his own seat across the table.

Pepper lifted the cover over the food, and a smile flitted across her face when she saw a wrapped burger from Burger King sitting on the plate.

"First thing I ate with you when I got home," Stark said quietly.

"I remember," Pepper replied with a smile.

"That was the day I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you," Stark continued. Pepper looked at him, starting to get slightly suspicious of what was going on. "You've been by my side through everything for me, Pep. I wouldn't be the man I am today if you weren't in my life. I took everything in my life for granted, and that included you. So now, with these burgers, I'm bringing things full circle. I don't want to take anything in my life for granted again. But I'm going to need help. So Pepper." Tony took his napkin off his lap and got out of his chair, getting down on one knee and pulling out a box from his jacket pocket in one smooth motion. One of Pepper's hands had drifted up to her mouth in shock and surprise. "Would you do me the great honor of allowing me to spend the rest of my life with you?"

Pepper usually prided herself on being able to stay calm and collected in highly emotional situations, with a few exceptions. One, when Tony had gotten off that plane from Afghanistan, and then again when her stupid, self-sacrificing billionaire boyfriend had flown a nuclear weapon into space to save Manhattan. There had also been that incident with Vanko and Hammer in Monaco, but she didn't like to think about that. This precise moment became another exception as her eyes filled with tears of their own accord.

"There's no anniversary party, is there?" she asked through the tears. Tony laughed, and Pepper could have sworn she saw a glisten of tear in his own eyes as he responded.

"No. No there's not. Just an excuse to keep your suspicions at bay."

Pepper couldn't help it as a few tears slipped out of her eyes and began trailing their way down her face. She sniffed and held back a choked sob as she stared at the gorgeous ring Tony had picked out. He had exquisite taste.

After another minute, Tony gently prodded, "So … is that a yes?"

"Yes," Pepper whispered, nodding slightly. Tony beamed and a few tears fell out of his own eyes as Pepper got out of her seat and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes, Tony. I will marry you."

The two of them sat there for a minute, just wrapped in each other's arms, until Pepper finally pulled back, wiping the tears off her face. Tony took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger, and she examined it for a moment before looking back at him.

"All I got you was this watch," she continued, reaching into her shawl's pocket and bringing out her own present, which she set on the table.

Tony opened up the box and looked at the simple, yet elegant watch inside. It had a leather band, and the face of the watch was a glossy pearl color. He took it out of the box and turned it over, reading the inscription behind the face.

 _Sometimes simple can be beautiful, like my love for you. -Pepper_

Stark cleared his throat, refusing to cry anymore than he already had. Immediately he took off his expensive Rolex and replaced it with his new watch.

"It's perfect," he assured her. For a few more hours, the two of them sat out on the patio, alone, talking the night away. Eventually they made their way back inside, and they spent the rest of the night together.

 _ **Sooooo thoughts? Incredibly cheesy? You guys should know that anything I write like this will be incredibly cheesy, so I apologize if you don't like it. Usually I don't like it either, but ... anything with Stark and Pepper just ... makes me go *squeeeeee!***_

 _ **Lemme know what you think!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Heeeey! So I know. It's been so. long. since I last posted in this story! But I figured, today was Tony's birthday, so I decided to write out one of my headcannons and fit it to this special day.**_

 _ **Happy Birthday, Tony Stark. We owe you everything.**_

 _ **As always, I own nothing of this wonderful fandom.**_

"Peter? Peeeeter?" Ned waved his hand in front of his friend's face, finally breaking Peter out of his dazed trance.

"Hmm? What? Sorry," Peter said, looking around as if just remembering where he was.

The final bell had rung, dismissing students. Usually Peter was the first one out the door, eager to get on patrol, but he'd promised Ned he'd go to the store with him to get stuff for their English project. Peter began gathering his backpack and shoving his pen and various books inside.

"Where'd you go?" Ned asked. His eyes lit up. "Were you reliving your last mission? Was there a lot of fighting? Did you see any _epic_ —"

"Shhh." Peter stared at his friend expectantly. "Remember the whole _secret_ part of my identity?"

"Sorry," Ned replied immediately, glancing around to make sure no one had heard. Thankfully, there was no one else in the room with them. Even the teacher had already left. "What _were_ you thinking about?"

"What do you get a man who has everything?" Peter asked, hoping maybe Ned could shed some light on the subject.

"What do you mean?"

Peter stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder, and he and Ned made their way out of the classroom. "It's Mr. Stark's birthday, and I mean … he's done so much for me, I just feel like I should get him something … y'know, show him I appreciate everything. But … he's Tony Stark. If he doesn't already have something, he can go get it himself really easily."

"I don't think that's the point of getting birthday gifts though," Ned pointed out. "The point is that you thought of him. I bet he'll like anything you get him."

"What are we talking about?" a new, but familiar voice piped up from behind. Ned and Peter glanced back and saw MJ walking directly behind them.

"How … how long have you been there?" Peter asked, hoping she hadn't overheard everything.

"Just something about a billionaire and birthdays," came her slightly-bored reply.

"Oh. Well, it's uh, Mr. Stark's birthday, and I thought I'd get him a gift. Y'know, to say thanks for the … internship."

"He's already got everything he needs," MJ said flippantly. Peter stared at the girl, unamused.

"Yeah, thanks for pointing out what I already know."

"I wasn't finished." Michelle didn't sound upset at Peter's snark. "He's already got everything he needs. You just need to get him something he doesn't know he _wants_."

"That's … actually a really good idea," Ned agreed.

"Yeah, but how do I know it's what he wants if he doesn't even know it?" Peter asked.

"Where are you guys going now?"

Peter wanted to ask what that had to do with his current predicament, but Ned answered before he could.

"WalMart. We gotta get poster board for Ms. Randolph's assignment."

"Cool. I'll come with." She looked at Peter. "Just keep your eyes peeled. I bet there's something there you can get your boss."

Peter seriously doubted it, but he kept those doubts to himself.

 _0-0-0_

"Cool. Finding poster board took all of two minutes. Now birthday shopping." Michelle turned and stared at Peter. "See anything?"

Peter looked around the section they were in. "Um … I don't think Mr. Stark cares about … eco-friendly cardstock."

"Hey, who knows. Didn't he have something to do with clean energy a few years back?"

"You know what I mean." Peter was trying not to scowl at the girl.

"Okay, fine. Let's go check out other things."

They exited the crafts section and began wandering around.

"Hey," Ned said as they passed by the fabrics. "You could do something with this!" The young man was pointing to a bunch of fleece that had Iron Man plastered all over it. Peter made a face.

"Seems tacky," MJ said, thankfully voicing what Peter was thinking.

They wandered a few more minutes. When they passed by the shoe section, MJ chuckled. "You could get him some of these," she suggested, taking down a pair of duck slippers.

"Maybe …"

"Come on. Everyone needs a good pair of animal slippers," MJ coaxed.

"Hey Peter!" Ned called out. Peter and Michelle looked up from the slippers and saw Ned standing by the frozen food, holding up a small carton of something. The two of them made their way over to their friend. "What about this?"

Ned was holding a carton of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, only it was a new flavor. A uniquely-named new flavor.

"Stark-Raving Hazelnuts?" Peter read aloud.

"Look, it's not the only one," Ned pointed out. Sure enough, there were at least half a dozen other flavors, all having to do with the Avengers.

Peter was holding the ice cream in his hand, weighing the options, when his eyes wandered over to the clothing section. More specifically, the shirts. Passing the ice cream to Michelle, Peter made his way over to the shirts. There was one in particular that caught his eye, and for some reason, it just felt right. Peter picked up the shirt and held it up for Ned and Michelle to see. In unison, both of them nodded in agreement. That was the gift for Tony Stark.

Suddenly, Peter's phone began ringing. He looked at the screen to see who it was, and with a jolt he saw Stark's name pop up on his screen. Quickly, he answered it.

"Mr. Parker," Tony greeted.

"Hey, Mr. Stark!"

"Where are you, kid? Doin' anything important?"

Peter looked at his friends. "Uh … just out getting some stuff for school with Ned and MJ."

"Great. Happy's on his way to pick you up. Got something I wanna show you. He'll be there in twenty minutes."

"O-okay," Peter stammered.

"Is it okay?" Tony sounded skeptical.

"Hm? Yeah, yeah. That's fine. I'll see you soon." The call was disconnected, and Peter looked up at Ned and MJ. "I need something to wrap this in."

 _0-0-0_

"Gooood afternoon, Mr. Parker," Tony greeted as he came up behind Happy and Peter. The billionaire was holding a framed something in his hands, but he was holding it so that it was facing away from Peter, and the teenager couldn't see what was inside the frame. Suddenly, the bag in Peter's hands felt a million times heavier, and the teenager desperately tried to figure out if there was some way he could get rid of the cheesy gift. Tossing it out the window seemed like the best idea, but unfortunately, all the windows were currently shut, and more than likely didn't even open. So Peter did the only thing he could think of: he put his hands behind his back and stood with his legs as close together as possible, trying to hide the fact that he was hiding something.

Unfortunately, Tony didn't miss anything. "What is that you're desperately trying to hide behind your back?" he asked. Slowly, Peter brought his hands out from behind him. The brightly colored "Happy Birthday" bag felt childish to Peter now, and he didn't even want to think about the shirt inside.

"It's … uh … nothing. Really, it's nothing."

Tony's eyebrow quirked up. "Wanna try that again?"

"It'syourbirthdaypresent," Peter finally said, slurring all his words together in a desperate attempt to his humiliation over with.

"Oh?"

Peter stared at the ground in embarrassment. How could he think that he could actually get something for Tony Stark, the billionaire who could get anything he wanted?

"Do I get to open the birthday present, or are you just gonna stand there?"

Peter reluctantly handed it over as Tony slipped the frame under his arm. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, it's just dumb, I wasn't really thinking. I can give you the receipt, you can return it. Or I guess, I can just return it myself …" Peter stopped talking and bit his lip as the billionaire opened the bag and reached inside.

"Stark-raving hazelnuts?" Tony pulled the ice cream out of the bag. There were droplets of water on the carton, and Peter mentally smacked himself in the head. He'd tried to keep in front of the AC on the car ride up, but apparently it wasn't enough to keep the ice cream from melting.

"Sorry," Peter muttered.

"I'm technically not eating dairy anymore, but I gotta try this." Tony pried the lid off, and to Peter's amazement, stuck his finger right into the container and pulled out a decently-solid piece of ice cream. Before any of the creamy liquid could drip onto the floor or his suit jacket, Tony quickly stuck his finger in his mouth, sucking off the sweet treat. After a moment, Tony nodded. "That's not half bad," he said. "Hap, you wanna put this in a freezer?" Tony stuck the lid back on and tossed the ice cream to Happy. "Make sure it's known that if anyone eats it, I'm comin' for them."

"You … you want me to leave you alone again?"

"I promise. I'll be good for thirty seconds while you run to the freezer."

Happy didn't look like he agreed, but he did as his boss and friend requested.

"You don't have to keep it if you don't want it, Mr. Stark," Peter rushed to assure the billionaire. Tony looked at Peter with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't do things if I don't believe in it, kid. The ice cream is good, and I want to eat the rest of it."

Tony reached into the bag again before Peter could apologize again, and he pulled out the shirt, unfolding and turning it around to get a better look at it. The billionaire squinted at the picture on the front, but after a few seconds he figured it out. Peter wasn't sure what he was expecting, but a smile and a laugh were definitely not it.

"That's good," Tony stated, turning the shirt around to face out. The graph depicting the similarities between a rabbit and duck stared at Peter. The teenager looked at the older man with slight disbelief in his eyes.

"You … you like it?"

"Kid, remember what I said literally twenty seconds ago about how I don't say I like things if I really don't?"

"Ice cream is put away," Happy announced as he came back into the room.

"Happy, here. Hold this." Tony handed over the frame that he was still holding, making sure to keep it facing away from Peter. "And this." Tony stripped his suit jacket off. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt underneath, and Tony just slipped the new shirt on over his old one. "Coat?"

Happy handed back Tony's jacket, which the billionaire slipped back into. "And frame." Tony held out his hand and accepted the frame from Happy. Peter couldn't stop staring at the shirt, surprised at how much Tony seemed to actually enjoy it.

"Mr. Parker. I figured it was about time we make your internship here official, wouldn't you say?"

Peter wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but everything was cleared up when Tony turned the frame around and revealed a certificate inside. Stark handed it over to the teenager.

"'In appreciation for your successful work with the Stark Industries Internship Program Peter Parker Has shown exemplary work Performance in the Science and Technology division,'" Peter read out loud. He looked back up at Tony.

"Meant every word," Tony said.

"Mr. Stark, I … I don't know what to say," Peter muttered, staring down at the sheet in awe.

"Maybe try saying 'cheese,'" Tony suggested. Peter looked up and saw Happy standing there with Mr. Stark's phone, ready to take a picture. Tony was putting his arm around Peter's shoulder, and for a minute, Peter wondered if Mr. Stark was giving him a hug, but the arm stopped right between Peter's shoulders, which the teenager thought was an odd place. Something brushed the back of his head, and Peter glanced up, slightly shocked to see Tony giving him bunny ears. Impulsively, Peter stuck up his own hand, giving the billionaire his own set of extra ears right as the picture was snapped.

Happy handed the phone back to Tony, who looked at the picture.

"Oh," Peter said as he noticed something. "The frame is upside down."

"You wanna retake it?" Happy asked, trying his best not to sound impatient.

"No, leave it," Tony said. "This is great." He smirked at the screen, the sniffed. "Right. Well, I wish I could stay and chat longer, but Pepper's got something special planned for tonight. Hap, you good to drive the kid back?"

Happy didn't seem too thrilled to be leaving again so soon, but he didn't say anything. He and Peter began making their way towards the exit, but Peter turned back around.

"Mr. Stark?"

The billionaire, who had begun walking in the opposite direction, also turned around.

"Thank you, so much for this. Have a happy birthday!"

Tony smiled, a truly genuine smile. "Of course, kid. You earned it. And hey." The billionaire gestured to his new shirt. "Thank _you_."

 _ **Aaaaaand in true Deliwiel fashion, I have no idea how to do endings, so we get this abrupt little thing XD Sorry about that *awkward grin***_

 _ **Sooooo? What did you guys think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? I should stop writing and keep these headcannons to myself? XD Jk jk jk. But really, let me know what you think!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Yay for more cheesy one-shots!**_

The rain lashed against the window, blown horizontal by the wind. Thunder and lightning flashed around, but Tony paid the weather little attention as he made his way through the compound. The billionaire mentally ran through a list of things he needed to finish before the day was over. Pepper needed to sign off on a few expenses, there was that press conference at four that he needed to be at, his teenager was sitting in front of one of the TVs, he had to-

Tony stopped, then backtracked, just to double check. Sure enough, Peter was sitting in front of a TV, a controller in his hand.

"Kid, what are you still doing here?"

With a jump, Peter turned and stared at Tony for a moment. "Hey Mr. Stark! Sorry, I just-No!" Peter turned back to the television just in time to see his animated character fly off a brightly colored bridge, sinking into the starry expanse below. His character was quickly resurrected by a turtle on a cloud, but Peter hit pause before he could fall again or lose the race entirely. When he was sure the game was paused, the teenager turned back to his mentor.

"I thought your training with Romanoff ended hours ago?"

"Yeah, no, it did. I couldn't find Happy for a ride, so I was just gonna swing home, but …" The teenager made a wide gesture to the stormy weather outside.

"Makes sense, I guess." Tony sniffed, and Peter sat there, a little awkwardly. "I didn't even know we had this … getup," Tony added, gesturing to the TV.

"You didn't know you had … TVs?"

"Yeah, okay, smart aleck, I knew we had the TVs, just not the … Wii? Is that a Wii? Aren't those things outdated? I didn't even know they still sold those things in the store?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that, this isn't new. I've had this console for years. Yeah, this was actually the last thing my uncle got for me." Peter looked down. "I'd been begging for months to get one. Ben and May, they saved for almost as long as I'd been asking, and I came home from school one day to find this sitting on my bed. That was right before the spider bite," the teenager finished, looking at the screen with a distant look in his eye, like he was reliving his life before everything changed.

Tony knew Peter didn't usually get this nostalgic, at least not in front of people. Something must have triggered him, or set something off inside to make him start talking like this.

"Anyway, sorry, Mr. Stark. I know you're busy, so I'll just stay here until the storm calms down a little, and-"

"Nah, not really a lot goin' on today," Tony interrupted nonchalantly. The billionaire came around and sat on the couch. "Just as long as your aunt knows you're still here? I don't really need to be yelled at today."

Peter chuckled. "Yeah, she knows. I texted her when I decided to stay here."

The two of them sat there, more than a little awkward. Tony finally glanced around, spotting a second remote sitting by the TV.

"'Kay, well, you're gonna need to grab me that remote then," Stark said, nodding towards the TV. Peter looked to where the older man was looking, then glanced back at Tony.

"You wanna … you're … are you sure you don't have other things to do?"

"You don't want me to play with you?"

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant, I just know that you're super busy and everything, so-"

"Whatever else I've got going on today, it can wait. I'm gonna show you how to really play this game."

"You're gonna … do you even know what Mariokart is?" Peter's cheeky grin earned him a shove from the billionaire, and the teenager couldn't stop himself chuckling as he moved to get Tony the remote.

"Who do you think helped design and build this game?" Tony asked. Peter stopped in his tracks and looked back at Tony.

"You … wait, are you serious?"

"Nope, definitely messing with you. I have no idea how this works. Show me."

Peter spent the next few minutes explaining how to play, how to work the controllers, and helping Stark pick a character.

Peter stuck with his original character, Yoshi, and Tony chose Waluigi. "Okay," Peter said after they'd chosen their characters and vehicles. "We'll start with the first track, just to get you used to the controls and everything, so-"

"Nuh uh," Tony cut in. "Let's go to that last one you were racing."

Peter's eyes widened a little. "Rainbow Road? You wanna start on Rainbow Road?"

"I don't start off easy, kid. Besides, it's a game. How hard can it be?"

 _0-0-0_

Pepper stared at her phone, waiting for a reply from Tony. He'd disappeared, which wasn't necessarily unlike him, but the fact that he had a press conference in thirty minutes, and no one had been able to get ahold of him for a few hours made her a little antsy. Friday confirmed he was still on the compound, but apparently the billionaire had instructed the AI not to give his exact position away. Pepper had no idea why Tony would do that, but she now had to search the compound for him herself, especially since he wasn't answering his phone.

As she made her way down one of the hallways, she suddenly heard voices coming from inside one of the rooms. Silently, Pepper poked her head inside the room and came across a sight that made her heart melt.

Tony was sitting on the couch, and Peter was on the floor in front of him. They were playing a video game while talking loudly over each other.

"You're cheating. There's no way you keep coming in first," Tony argued.

"I swear, Mr. Stark, I'm not cheating!" Peter cackled as he zoomed past Tony, lapping him.

"Well then, your head is blocking the sensor from my severely outdated Wii remote, and that's why I keep falling off."

"That's not why you keep falling off, Mr. Stark," Peter assured his mentor. Peter raced across the finish line, and the screen flashed, alerting Tony that his character had come in last place.

"You're just blocking my sensor on purpose," Tony insisted.

"Here, I've got an idea that'll show you how I'm really not," Peter said with a laugh. The teenager got up, and with a flip jump, stuck to the ceiling with his sticky feet. "Now I have to play upside down _and_ backwards, so you'll see that I'm not cheating. I'm just better at this game than you!"

"That, Mr. Parker, sounds like a challenge."

"It'd only be a challenge if you were any good at this game."

"Start the race, kid. I'll show you just how good I can be."

Pepper watched in silence, amused, as Peter selected one of the races again. The countdown started, but as the small animated figures took off, a black cloud appeared over Tony's character, and he got a later start than the rest of the racers.

"You keep pressing two too early!" Peter said from his spot on the ceiling. "Gives you a false start."

"Yeah, yeah, just drive."

The race took less than five minutes. Tony fell off the track at least once per lap, and Peter ended up lapping him again.

While Tony loudly exclaimed that somehow, Peter was indeed cheating, Pepper turned and walked back down the hallway.

"Friday?"

"Yes, Ms. Potts?"

"Cancel Tony's press conference today, would you?"

"What should I say is the reason for the cancellation?"

Pepper paused as Tony let out a curse as the redhead assumed they started another race. "Just tell them he's taking a personal day."

 _0-0-0_

"Let's do that Bowser's Castle again," Tony said, determined to not fall off this time.

Peter hesitated, glancing at the billionaire. When the screen didn't show the opening credits for the race, Tony looked up at the teenager and caught him staring. "What? Come on, let's go. I'm getting better, I got eleventh last time. And don't think I didn't notice you slowing down for me a couple races ago. No gimmes."

Peter let a small smile light on his face. He wasn't going to tell Mr. Stark, but exactly a week from today would be the anniversary of his uncle's death. That was why he'd broken the Wii out again. He and May had something special planned for the day of, but Peter had his own tradition. Mariokart had been the last game he and his uncle had played, a week before Ben died. Playing the stupid racing game always made Peter feel a little closer to his uncle. And now, playing it with his mentor, somehow made him feel closer to Ben. As if playing with Tony reminded him of what it was like to have a father figure.

Finally, Peter selected the Bowser's Castle he knew Tony was talking about, and the two of them waited for the race to start.

 _ **Thoughts?**_

 _ **Like I've said before, one-shots are not my forte, and they always end up really cheesy and probably OOC, but hey. It's making me branch out in writing more. Lemme know what you guys think?**_


	8. Chapter 8

"Peter," Clint whispered as the two of them stared down the giant spider. The thing was literally as big as Cap's shield. Peter had heard of big spiders but this was … insane.

"Peter," Barton hissed again.

"What?"

"Tell it we're not going to hurt it."

Peter looked at the archer incredulously. "What?"

"I mean, it's obviously a lie, I'm going to kill that thing as soon as I get a chance, but just … tell it we won't hurt it. Lure it into a false sense of security."

"You _do know_ I can't actually talk to spiders, right?" Peter rolled his eyes.

"What good are your spider powers if you can't even talk to the creepy things?" Barton did _not_ sound impressed. "Scott can communicate with ants."

"Yeah, but I don't have one of his brain wave gizmo thingies," Peter hissed out of the side of his mouth, eyes riveted on the spider as it began rubbing its legs together, cleaning them off. Clint moved slowly, trying to reach behind him to get one of his arrows, but the spider noticed the movement. It hissed and scuttled forward slightly.

Peter let out a small yelp as he and Barton stepped back. "Stop moving," the younger man said, trying to stop the panic from coming through his tone. Could spiders sense panic?

"Hey Cap," Clint muttered, hoping Rogers had his earpiece in and could hear him. "I think we found what we're looking for. You guys got the doc yet? Wanna come give us some help?"

The sound of heavy breathing and shouts came over the coms as Steve replied. "Just … a … minute."

Clint and Peter continued their staring contest with the massive spider for what felt like hours, but in reality was only another minute or two before Steve came back on again.

"We got Skinner and the rest of his growth-enhancement serum. What's the problem?"

"The _problem_ is that we didn't stop Skinner before he got the chance to test that serum," Barton growled. "We got a … spider problem, and I'm not talkin' about the kid."

"Hey," Peter protested.

"You guys know we didn't just recruit you for your pretty faces, right?" Nat's voice came over the coms drily.

"Every time we try to move, this thing charges us," Clint defended.

After another few seconds, Rogers responded. "Where are you guys?"

"I don't know," Clint muttered snappishly. "We're in some alley. Forgive me for not pulling out my phone and sending you a pin."

"I'm just going to pretend to know what that means," Rogers replied.

"Oh for the love of-" Stark's voice interrupted. "Barton, Parker, I'm tracking you guys now. Stay there."

"Oh trust me, we aren't going to move," Peter whispered.

"Kid? You okay?"

"Don't tell me you're scared of spiders?" Clint asked, eyeing the teenager incredulously.

"Normally? No. When they're this big, yeah, I'm a little freaked out."

The spider scuttled forward again, though this time it didn't stop after just a few steps. It kept moving towards Peter and Clint, both of whom immediately began backing up with terrified yelps.

Peter jumped up as high on a nearby wall as he could, but Barton was stuck on the ground.

"Kid, can't you do _anything_?!" Clint asked, jumping up onto a dumpster.

"I can try." Now that he was off the ground, Peter felt a little more confident that the spider couldn't get to him as quickly. He shot a few webs at the gargantuan spider, and actually got the thing stuck to the ground.

"Keep it up, kid," Clint said as he pulled out his bow. "Hey, how do your webs hold up against fire?"

Peter stared at the archer. "Uuuhhh …"

"No burning, Clint," Steve reprimanded.

"Why?!"

"We need as much of it intact as we can, and fire doesn't help with that."

The archer rolled his eyes, but he switched the arrow he was grabbing for, instead pulling out a small, dart-tipped arrow.

"No poison either."

Clint looked around in annoyance, trying to see if Rogers was actually just watching them from somewhere above. "So what, we're just supposed to lure this guy under the world's largest cup? Don't think that plan's gonna work, Cap."

"Just chill for a minute guys, we're almost to you," Stark assured them. Peter would have loved to do nothing else, but unfortunately, the spider had other ideas.

"Mr. Barton?" Peter pointed towards the spider, and to both of their horrors, the thing had already managed to pull free of Peter's webbing and was once again charging them, clearly more irritated than before.

The arachnid jumped, launching itself off the ground and flying through the air towards Clint. The archer pulled out one of his arrows, ready to kill that spider by whatever means necessary, despite what Cap said, but he didn't have to worry about that.

"No!" Instinctively, Peter fired webs at the arachnid and swung the large beast away from his teammate. Unfortunately, as a spider, the large creature also knew how webs worked, and it immediately began crawling along the taut material at an alarmingly fast rate. "Karen, taser webs!" Peter yelped, scuttling up the wall as if that would get him away from the spider crawling up the webs still attached to his wrists.

Thankfully, the AI wasn't one to dawdle, and just before the spider reached the teenager, electricity raced through the web, and the spider fell to the ground, paralyzed from the shock.

Peter climbed down from the wall as Clint jumped off the dumpster. The archer looked at the kid. "Took ya long enough," he griped.

"I didn't see you doing anything to help," Peter argued. "And I know for a fact you have taser arrows. Why didn't you use those?!"

Before Clint had the chance to answer, Peter caught the spider twitching out of the corner of his eye, and quickly zapped it again. It was only after he stopped zapping it the second time that he realized the spider was probably just spasming from the first shock, and wasn't actually trying to attack them anymore. Sheepishly, Peter let go of the webs.

"Well, seems like you boys got things figured out," Natasha said from behind. The two boys in question turned around and saw Nat and Steve walking towards them, while Tony descended from above.

"Nice job, kid," Tony commented as he observed the scene. "We should probably work on your war cry though. Not gonna scare many bad guys with that yelp."

"Yeah," Clint agreed, standing next to Natasha.

"Don't think we didn't hear you screaming, bird-brain," Tony added.

"What? I would never. Nat?" The archer looked to his fellow spy, then turned back. "Actually, don't answer that."

"What matters is that we got everything," Steve cut in. "Skinner's in custody, we have the serum, and we have the test subject. Hopefully with some modification on the serum itself, we can get this guy back to its normal size."

"I still say we shoulda burned this sucker," Clint pouted.

"It's not its fault that Skinner experimented on it," Steve argued.

"Yeah, but I mean … Cupid's got a point." Stark flipped his faceplate up. "It's not really natural anymore, and who knows what'll happen if we shrink it back down to normal size. Could be dangerous."

"Yeah, I mean, look at what spiders did to me," Peter added, gesturing to himself.

"See? Kid knows what he's talkin' about." Tony clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder. Fortunately, nobody could see how red Peter's face was, or how quickly his grin spread across his face under the mask. _Un_ fortunately, while they debated amongst themselves, no one noticed the spider behind them start to twitch.

 _ **This was one of the first prompts I ever got for this story, and I swear I started working on it as soon as I got it, because I loved the idea so much. I just hit some writer's block with it, so it took me waaaaay longer than it should have. Hope you guys enjoyed it though! Let me know what you think!**_


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